Before long, Headmistress Elena Woodline, along with a few remaining professors, had ridden a familiar and arrived at the Academy Plaza.

Vice Commander Magrio stepped in front of them and quietly suggested they watch the situation unfold. Headmistress Elena nodded her head, sweating nervously.

In the middle of the Plaza, Luce, and Dorothy both looked unwell. A murderous intent filled their eyes and they appeared as if they could kill each other at any moment.

It was a connection formed through Isaac. The two disliked each other. Although Dorothy had always been kind towards her, it would be a stretch to say their relationship was even remotely good.

"Why... do you try to take them away without saying anything? Who are you to do that?"

Luce hated the Paladins enough to want to kill them.

She couldn't let Dorothy take away those detestable people as she pleased.

"Luce Elta- Ugh!!"

Dorothy tried to cry out Luce's name but felt a severe headache as if her head was being hacked to pieces. A groan of pain escaped her lips.

Starlight mana seethed like a furnace, bubbling intensely. This was perhaps even more pronounced because she had tried to wield transcendent power just moments ago. It showed no signs of calming down.

Starlight mana leaked, causing a swarm of stars. Dorothy gritted her teeth trying to suppress the mana, but the chaotic surge of mana was more than she more than she could handle.

Wrapped in a swarm of stars, Dorothy, breathing roughly, soon struggled to speak.

"I will find a way to cut through the demon's belly... For that, I need a guide... To find where the one who summoned that demon is...!"

"How can you be sure it will go as you think?"

"There's nothing else I can do... for Isaac...!"

Isaac wasn’t perfect. So, Dorothy was convinced that she could make up for his imperfections.

But in the end, Isaac was devoured by a demon stronger than the Floating Island.

Dorothy felt a relentless stirring of helplessness and self-reproach in her heart.

It was to the point that her emotional distress intensified the potency of the starlight mana and caused her pain, thus making it impossible for her to calm down.

Luce scoffed.

"Does it hurt so much it's made you stupider than usual?."

"What...?"

Dorothy glared at the provoking Luce with murderous eyes, but Luce remained calm.

Luce gently blinked, then slightly bowed her head and pursed her lips.

"Isaac will come back. He's stronger than anyone."

"..."

"Stop this nonsense and hole yourself up in your room. If you keep doing such stupid things and the empire ends up turning against you, what of Isaac then?"

Luce said in a sardonic tone.

If Isaac did not return, regardless of the Imperial Investigative Authority, the Paladins would die by her hand.

But Luce decided to believe that Isaac would return. It seemed unbearable believe he wouldn’t.

Therefore, she assumed Isaac would return and thought accordingly.

"If Isaac is saddened because of you, the only thought that will fill my mind is of killing you, Dorothy."

Dorothy flinched and struggled to clear her pain-clouded mind.

She acknowledged she hadn't considered Isaac's feelings.

But despite that, all she wanted now was to save him. Dorothy thought that rescuing him was the priority.

Dorothy wanted to voice hopeful words like Luce.

But... no matter how much she thought about it, the demon above was too strong. As mentioned before, the power of [All In the World] had made that clear.

Because of that, she became impatient.

So, she had to do her best to save Isaac.

"Still, I... Ah...!"

The starlight that had been flowing in Dorothy's eyes flickered vividly

Something that appeared dreamly in Dorothy's vision suddenly grabbed her hand forcefully.

Paaaaah!!

Her starlight mana began to bubble like molten hot lava.

A chilling mana spread from Dorothy.

The only thing Dorothy could manage to do before succumbing the pain was to cast a starlight barrier to protect the Paladins who could be the guides to Wonderland, the innocent Luce, the Imperial Knights, and the faculty members who had come to the plaza.

"Guh, ugh!!"

Dorothy screamed. She clutched her head with both hands and screamed.

Luce and the Imperial Knights were all shocked. They reflexively took up combat stances.

Stars filled the Plaza, and the strange mana settled like gravity. The structures and stage of the plaza were shattered and crushed.

Chararang!!

Around Dorothy, a swarm of stars violently rose. The colorful swarm of stars gradually became duller.

At first glance, Dorothy's body reflected through the star cluster, and several eyes shone out. Luce couldn’t understand what this phenomenon could be.

On the top floor of the Hegel Magic Tower. Aria Lillias, while alone in the tower, felt Dorothy's mana. Feeling strong anxiety, she hurriedly left the tower and headed for the Academy Plaza.

The Düpfendorf forces guarding the island also turned their heads in Dorothy’s direction.

Even the demon imitating the night sky writhed. The demon, who had been still for four days, reacted to the strange mana Dorothy was emitting.

"Just what the hell are you...?"

Luce quietly voiced her question as she watched Dorothy struggling to suppress her starlight mana.

The Star Fairy, Stella.

Fairies were beings shrouded in mystery. Like demons, their origins and the reasons for their special powers were unknown.

Among them, if asked who the most mysterious fairy was, everyone would unanimously say the Star Fairy.

The starlight element was a power that manipulated all kinds of physical forces. It was hard to deny that it possessed the greatest potential and destructive power among all elements.

The existence of such a powerful Star Fairy was known only because of a girl said to have received the power of starlight in the distant past and a prodigious genius named Dorothy Heartnova.

The first Starlight Wizard suddenly disappeared one day.

On that day, records indicate that tsunamis and typhoons struck the world.

Luce quietly gathered her mana, recalling the story told by the Candy House Witch.

She realized that starlight mana was not entirely on Dorothy's side.

Then she had to stop Dorothy, who was on the verge of losing control, right here and now.

Kiiiaaaaah!!

Above Luce, lightning branched out in hundreds of directions, revealing Thunderbird Galia. Luce summoned lightning with the aid of the Thunderbird.

"Don't resent me if this hurts. I intend to subdue you."

Luce, along with the Imperial Knights, deployed a magic circle. However, they were sweating coldly, for the superiority in power was clear.

Nevertheless, everyone gathered in the Academy Plaza instinctively felt that if they did not subdue Dorothy now, something terrible would happen.

A tense situation.

It was then.

Kwagagang!!

A purple lightning bolt streaked across the sea and fell before Luce, taking the form of a man.

Bazzzzt!

A man with dark purple hair quickly deployed a lightning magic circle in an instant and stretched out his arm toward Dorothy. His eyes, flowing like an electric current, locked on Dorothy.

The Elemental King of Lightning. The Lighting Sovereign, “Jaul Dragoniac”.

Luce, the Thunderbird, the Imperial Knights, Headmistress Elena, and the faculty were greatly startled by the arrival of the Lightning Sovereign.

"W-why is the Lightning Sovereign here...?!"

Fwooooosh!!

Following that, a fireball flew at tremendous speed and fell onto the Academy Plaza, it burst into flames and transformed into a human form.

An elderly man with a full snowy white beard, dressed in a wizard's robe, had his hood pulled down over his head and deployed a fire magic circle while leaning on his magic staff.

With a serious face, his eyes, filled with flame, focused on Dorothy.

The Elemental King of Fire. The Fire Sovereign, “Andersen Versando”.

Puuahhhh!!

A whirlpool of water rose from the sea, crossed the sky, and struck down into the Academy Plaza.

With a click, the whirlpool vanished and the water mana spread beautifully, revealing an elegant woman with navy blue hair.

She deployed a water element magic circle and looked at Dorothy with her aquamarine eyes, a faint smile on her lips.

The Elemental King of Water. The Water Sovereign, “Siren Silivian”.

Whooosh!!

A light green tornado stretched out and poured into the Academy Plaza.

The tornado instantly condensed and was grasped in the hands of a short girl who landed on the spot.

She was a girl wearing an eyepatch over her right eye and a hat.

She deployed a wind magic circle and created a large wind bow, aiming an arrow of light green mana at Dorothy.

Holding the bow was a large arm made of mana, crafted from condensed wind.

The girl stood still, looking at Dorothy expressionlessly.

The Elemental King of Wind. The Wind Sovereign, “Erin Campbell”.

The pinnacle of each element and the strongest humans in the world. The sight of the four Elemental Kings gathered as if they had made an agreement left the onlookers speechless.

Luce felt their mana. Each one of them possessed immense mana, its depth was unfathomable.

Even she, who wielded the Thunderbird, felt like mere dust before them.

The Elemental Kings, each maintaining a distance, surrounded Dorothy. All were wary of her.

"How did the Elemental Kings appear all at once...?"

"Run."

When Vice Commander of the Imperial Knights Magrio questioned, Fire Sovereign Andersen responded solemnly.

"If something like that goes berserk, who knows what could happen."

Dorothy was still groaning and suffering, unable to control her starlight mana.

"We thought to stop the demon in the sky if the empire fails in its subjugation... but not you, Dorothy Heartnova. If you can't suppress that mana right now, we don't know what disaster may strike."

Dorothy's name was world-famous. She had received the blessings of the Lord Manhalla and was chosen by the Star Fairy. The Elemental Kings were all well aware of her.

Since the Ice Sovereign revealed himself, the Elemental Kings had been keeping a watchful eye on Märchen Academy. They all came here together upon sensing the chilling mana emanating from Dorothy.

If Dorothy couldn't suppress her mana and it were to run wild…

the Elemental Kings couldn't predict how dangerous a being might emerge.

"It feels unsatisfactory to do this to a student... Hey kid, can you try to calm down? We don't want to be doing this either."

The elegant woman, Water Sovereign Siren, said this with a kind smile.

In contrast, Lightning Sovereign Jaul couldn't say a word. He only furrowed his brows.

That...?

Jaul recalled the unknown being with many eyes hidden within Isaac.

The intimidating aura the being emitted... was now being felt from the rampaging Dorothy. Jaul felt a sense of discord from this fact.

It felt as if Dorothy was in the process of becoming such an entity.

“...?”

Luce moved even closer to Dorothy. Thanks to the starlight protective barrier, she could approach safely.

The intense and erratic gravity around Dorothy would have distorted anybody who approached without protection.

Luce turned her back to Dorothy and extended her arms to the sides.

The onlookers in the Plaza were greatly alarmed by this, and Dorothy was startled as well.

"Honestly, I don't even understand what's happening, and I dislike you. But still..."

Thunderbird shot into the sky, spreading flashes of lightning. He was solely following his master's will.

Luce showed her determination to the Elemental Kings.

"If something happens to you, wouldn't Isaac be sad?"

While that was a valid reason, Luce hoped that no misfortune would befall Dorothy.

After Isaac, she was the one she could most easily talk to. Although there were still aspects of her she disliked, it wasn't as if she outright hated Dorothy.

Thus, Luce had chosen to stand by Dorothy without hesitation.

Dorothy, gasping for breath and in agony, watched Luce's back with her eyes bulging with strained blood vessels. She wanted to scream at her to get away, but she couldn't muster the voice to do so.

"...I'm sorry about this."

Wind Sovereign Erin said calmly with her eyes closed. She didn't know how close Luce and Dorothy were, but she couldn't just stand by and watch Dorothy's rampage.

Dorothy needed to be subdued. The will of the Elemental Kings were unified, and the magic circle they deployed emitted a powerful light.

At that moment.

The storm settled.

Whooooo!!!

Suddenly, a sharp blood-wind swept around Dorothy and Luce, as if intent on protecting them.

It was a wind so sharp that it could slice through flesh upon contact.

The wind magic was intended as a threat, so it harmed no one. However, because of the wind, the Elemental Kings ceased their magic and observed the situation.

A girl with light green hair landed near Luce and Dorothy. With bloodshot eyes, she scanned the Elemental Kings, her expression hardened.

It was Kaya Astrea. She too appeared worn out, having not slept for four days.

Kaya casted [Blood Tree] around herself and Dorothy to protect them from the overflowing starlight mana.

She attempted to heal Dorothy while resisting the rebellious starlight mana.

And then, taking a deep breath, she shouted loudly.

"Can't you all sense it?!!"

Just moments ago, Kaya had been near The Abyss because she didn't want to rest without doing anything.

And just now, she had faintly felt the burgeoning ice mana emanating from the demon in the starry sky.

Kaya extended her right arm upwards, pointing at the demon.

"In the sky!! Ice mana!!"

The people in the Plaza, except for the Elemental Kings, didn't understand what Kaya was saying. Even the Elemental Kings were slow to catch on, as they were focused on the out-of-control starlight mana.

Soon, an anomaly occurred.

Kuuuuung!!!

The sky trembled. No, The Abyss itself began to shudder.

At that moment, a terrifying amount of ice mana descended upon the area.

The Elemental Kings, the imperial knights, Headmistress Elena and the faculty, and Dorothy and Luce felt chills run down their spines and quickly looked up.

It was the moment that confirmed the survival of a man.

"Everyone, prepare to welcome him!"

Even the [Blood Tree] shield was insufficient to block Dorothy's mana.

Kaya endured the pain of her body twisting and her flesh tearing as she stayed by Dorothy's side, rapidly healing her injuries with the power of the plant element.

With a resolute face, she exclaimed,

"Sir Isaac will return...!"

Isaac is alive. Thus, he will defeat the demon and return.

Such a belief was reflected on Kaya's face.

It was four days ago.

It was after Isaac had been devoured by the Abyss while holding Alice Carroll.

"...Baby?"

Alice slowly opened her eyes, feeling a sense of weightlessness.

She was being held in a princess carry by a man. Silver-blue hair filled her vision.

"Are you awake?"

Isaac flashed Alice a gentle smile.